Questions about UAE gratuity

One year of continuous service. Below that there is no statutory gratuity, regardless of how the employment ended. Other amounts may still be owed — unused annual leave, outstanding wages, notice pay — and none of those depend on completing a year.

Not since 2 February 2022. The old reductions of one third and two thirds for resignation were repealed with the 1980 law. Resignation and termination now pay exactly the same.

Summary dismissal under Article 44 does not automatically cancel accrued gratuity. The forfeiture provision that existed in the old law was not carried into the current decree-law. An employer withholding gratuity should be asked to state the legal basis in writing.

Yes, pro-rated. Cabinet Resolution No. 1 of 2022 calculates gratuity for part-time and flexible contracts by the ratio of your contracted hours to full-time hours at the employer. The calculator handles this if you tick the part-time box.

Yes, towards the total. It does not create a separate entitlement, and leaving during probation means you are below one year and no gratuity arises.

Basic wage only. Housing, transport, mobile, schooling and every other allowance is excluded. On a typical UAE package this roughly halves the figure people expect, and it is the single most common source of surprise.

The basic wage at the end of the employment, applied across your entire service. Earlier, lower salaries are not used for the earlier years.

Two years' wage. That equates to 720 days of entitlement, which is reached at around 25 years and 6 months of service. Most people never approach it.

Yes, pro rata. Three years and four months earns 3.33 years' worth. There is no rounding down to whole years, and a calculator that rounds is understating your figure.

Yes. Days of absence without pay are excluded from the service period. Paid annual leave and paid sick leave are not and count in full.

The UAE does not levy personal income tax on employment income, so no deduction is made at source. If you are tax-resident elsewhere, your own jurisdiction may treat the payment differently, and that is a question for a tax adviser in that country.

Fourteen days from the end of the employment relationship, for gratuity and every other amount in the final settlement.

The route is a complaint to MOHRE, which handles labour disputes and will attempt settlement before the matter goes further. Keep your contract, payslips, resignation or termination letter and any written calculation you were given. Take advice before signing a settlement containing a waiver of claims.

Ask for the employer's calculation in writing, showing the basic wage used, the service period and the number of days. The difference will almost always be in one of those three, and seeing which one tells you what to challenge. Do not sign anything until it is resolved.

Some employers have opted into the voluntary scheme introduced by Cabinet Resolution No. 96 of 2023, where monthly contributions replace the lump sum. It is voluntary and most have not adopted it. If yours has, accrued rights up to the switch are preserved. Ask which arrangement applies to you.

No. DIFC has its own employment law and replaced gratuity with DEWS, a funded workplace savings scheme. ADGM likewise operates separately. Check which law governs your contract before relying on any federal figure.

Most non-financial free zones apply the federal labour law, so the calculation here generally holds. Some have additional rules of their own. Your contract and the free zone authority are the places to confirm it.

Only if continuity of service was preserved and documented. If nothing was recorded at the time, expect each entity to be treated separately. Where the combined total is substantial this is worth taking advice on.

Domestic workers are covered by separate legislation, not the federal labour law used here. The figures on this site do not apply.